[On The Way] Benoit Tholence – Sanka: a bike that takes the codes of the car, to replace the second car!

Living in the countryside, far from the hustle of city centres, is the dream of many large cities inhabitants… We then move away from urban areas and breathe. However, these areas are often underserved by public transport and bicycle infrastructure remains discreet. Households living in these areas often have two vehicles. In most cases, it is precisely with this second vehicle that the daily short trips (home to work, pick-up kids at school, small grocery shopping,…) are made and it is these exact same trips that could be made by bike. SANKA wants to address this issue and replace the second car with its brand new bike: Bob.

Bob, a bike that uses the codes of the car (convertible four-wheeled cargo bike). The startup Sanka, founded by Benoit Tholence, offers a sustainable mobility solution to citizens who do not live in the city center and therefore do not benefit from public transport at hand. The idea behind this extraordinary vehicle, is to be an alternative to households’ second cars for daily short trips, less than 10 km, and which require to be able to transport the family comfortably and especially safely.

Even if it is almost 2 times smaller than a smart, this bike, allows to be clearly visible by other users on the road. Indeed, country roads are not often equipped with infrastructure for cycling, which makes it dangerous to use them when you are cycling. With Bob, this problem is solved. In addition, the other two major advantages of this solution are that it provides a real reliable and robust electric assistance and enough space to carry 2 children, shopping bags and possibly another adult.

Commuting – work, home – school with children, or to the supermarket after school are all possible!

You are conquered and you dream of discovering this new low carbon mode of transport? This project that Benoit presents to us is not yet live but will be released at the end of March as a pilot in some communities in Auvergne Rhône Alpes and Burgundy in particular. It will be proposed by the communities, according to a model of long-term rental from individuals. What to broaden the use of the bike, contribute to a revival of road users and soothe our daily journeys that will be done with less noise and gas pollution and especially less stress!

To learn more about the genesis of this project, the motivations of the startup Sanka and its founder Benoit Tholence, as well as alternatives to the car for more sustainable and multimodal mobility, listen to this episode! Saddle up!